Hyperspace Beacon: The BioWare schtick

I'm going to dote a little on BioWare for a bit. Specifically, I would like to dote on Knights of the Old Republic, the precursor to Star Wars: The Old Republic. I want to accentuate the positive up front here, because in a moment I will say things that may be construed as negative. However, they're not. I have complete respect for what BioWare has done and is doing.

The point of this is to show BioWare's track record and to show that BioWare went so far as to build a story-making game from the ground up. Now, based on reports from Gamasutra, BioWare is using the HeroEngine for SWTOR, but that, obviously, does not mean there will be less focus on storytelling in the game.

But has BioWare's storytelling energy finally run out? Have the original ideas presented in KOTOR and Baldur's Gate diminished to monotony? Has BioWare become -- dare I say it -- predictable? If it has, is that a bad thing? Continue reading to explore these ideas.

It is often said that there is no original story idea. At any given moment, there are 20 or more scripts about the exact same plot being sent to movie studios right now. In fact, you can simplify that even further and say that nearly every movie being created has the same basic storytelling formula. The three-act process is quite well-known. Act one is the setup with the introduction of the protagonist and supporting characters; act two starts when the primary plot is introduced and continues until the twist or maybe the lowest emotional point for the protagonist; finally, act three is the push towards resolution.

This formula is seen in BioWare games like KOTOR. The Endar Spire and Taris are used as the set-up locations. Nearly all the major players are introduced at those locations: Carth, Mission, Zaalbar, Bastila, Ordo, and even Malak. This act ends with the [spoiler alert] destruction of Taris and the crew's escape on the Ebon Hawk. The second act of KOTOR, even though it is quite long and complicated, can be summed up as the quest for the Star Maps. Because the third act usually begins right after the twist, everything from Korriban and on would be considered the third act for KOTOR. (That's right, the twist is finding out that you are Revan. Dum dum dum.)

BioWare follows the three-act formula for the majority of its games, but to be honest, if we were to discount all the games, movies, and books that follow this model, we would probably only have a handful left. According to some writers, the BioWare formula is even more predictable. To a point, I agree. There is quite a pattern to its games.

A year ago, a fan asked on the BioWare forums, "Has anyone noticed that KOTOR 1/2, Mass Effect and Dragon Age all seem to have roughly the same story/map layouts?" He pointed out that these games followed the pattern of an intro area, four story areas, and a fifth area that, once revealed, leads to an end boss. Another fan, Ian Miles Cheong, infamously tried to break down the BioWare formula in a chart originally hosted by Gameriot.com. But when you examine the chart, it is quickly obvious that only two BioWare games actually follow the suggested formula. That is not to say there isn't a formula to the BioWare madness. In fact, the one site that I believe has come the closest to truly cracking the BioWare code is Cracked.com. However, that article mostly focuses on the supporting characters.

If you really want to slice into the mainframe of BioWare's storytelling, you will have to step outside the proverbial box and look at the storytelling as a whole. Many players, including myself, believe that playing KOTOR was like stepping right back into the Star Wars films for the first time. I don't believe this was by accident.

The Star Wars films were heavily influenced by Joseph Campbell's study of the mythological hero, Hero with a Thousand Faces. George Lucas discussed the influence in the biography Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind: "It was very eerie because in reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classical motifs." At that point, Star Wars really started taking the shape of the memorable story it would become.

The Hero's Journey described in Hero with a Thousand Faces was not meant to be a formula for writing, but rather a study of similarities between existing heroic stories. However, many film directors, from James Cameron to the Wachowski brothers, have used this study as a springboard for their own creations. BioWare is certainly a part of this group that uses the Hero's Journey as a theorem for its tall tales. Below is a chart that compares the Hero's Journey to KOTOR and classic Star Wars.

Hero's Journey

KOTOR

Classic Star Wars

Departure

The call to adventure

Carth asks Revan to search for Bastilla

The message from Leia

Refusal of the call

The verbal confrontation with Carth in the apartment

Luke's uncle needs him

Supernatural aid

By luck, Bastilla is freed from the Vulkars

Ben aids in the Tusken Raider attack

Crossing the first threshold

Leaving Taris

Going to Mos Eisley to leave Tatooine

Initiation

The road of trials

Training on Dantooine

Training as a Jedi

The meeting with the goddess

Meeting Bastilla

Meeting Leia

The temptress

The ultimate culmination was Bastilla tempting Revan

The Dark Side (in the guise of Vader and the Emperor)

Atonement with the Father

Realizing that he was once Darth Revan

Luke meeting Vader on Endor

Apotheosis

Turning Ajunta Pall from the Dark Side

Luke becoming a Jedi

The ultimate boon

The fall of the Sith Empire

The fall of the Empire

Return

Refusal of the return

The dialogue suggests many ways to back out, but ultimately Revan continues on

Leia tells Luke not to go to Vader again

The magic flight

The Ebon Hawk

Anything on the Millennium Falcon

Rescue from without

The captured Jedi being "released"

*sigh* the Ewoks

Crossing the return threshold

Stepping onto the Star Forge

Luke stepping on the Death Star

Master of the two worlds

Revan overcomes the Dark Side and turns Bastilla back to the Light

Luke tosses aside his saber and refusing to fall to the Dark Side

Freedom to live

Returning to the Jedi Order

Vader's pyre and vision of the Force ghosts

Mythic Elements

Two Worlds (mundane and special)

The living (Kashyyyk) and mechanical (Taris)

The poor and lavish (i.e., Tatooine vs. Bespin)

The Mentor

Jolee Bindo

Obi-wan Kenobi

The Oracle

The Dantooine council

Yoda

The Prophecy

Revan's dreams

"The last of the Jedi will you be"

Failed Hero

Carth Onasi

Han Solo

Wearing Enemy's Skin

Dressing in Sith Armor and the guise on Korriban

Dressing as Stormtroopers

Shapeshifter

Canderous Ordo

Lando Calrissian

Animal familiar

T3-M4 and Zaalbar

R2-D2

Chasing a lone animal into the enchanted wood

Hunting down a crazed Wookiee in the Shadowlands

The tree cave

At this point, the question is, "What does this mean for the The Old Republic?" Specifically, only the writers know for sure. However, this definitely give us something to look forward to. Expect things like temptation from companions to sway your quest. Look for companion characters like the Mentor and the Oracle. Revan's caverns will probably be similar to the Star Forage motif. Characters like Satele Shan or Darth Malgus will come to your character's aid to start you on your journey. We know gaining your ship will be a climactic moment. Daniel Erickson mentioned to TOROCast that there will be a return to your starting zone, so look for an "ending" on those worlds.

Does this make SWTOR less interesting or monotonous? Ultimately, that will be for you to decide, but for me, it only makes the game more interesting.